As one of the methods for synthesizing liquid fuels from a natural gas, a GTL (Gas to Liquids: liquid fuel synthesis) technique of reforming a natural gas to produce a synthesis gas containing a carbon monoxide gas (CO) and a hydrogen gas (H2) as the main components, synthesizing liquid hydrocarbons by the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis reaction (hereinafter referred to as “FT synthesis reaction”), with this synthesis gas as a source gas, and further hydrogenating and refining the liquid hydrocarbons to produce liquid fuel products, such as naphtha (raw gasoline), kerosene, gas oil, and wax, has recently been developed.
In an FT synthesis reaction step, for example, a reactor called a bubble column slurry bed type reactor is used as one of the reactors. This bubble column slurry bed type reactor has a configuration in which a slurry consisting of a catalyst and medium oil is contained inside a column type container, and a sparger is provided at the bottom of the reactor. In the FT synthesis reaction step, a synthesis gas is supplied into the reactor from the bottom thereof as bubbles via the sparger, passes through the inside of the slurry from a lower part to an upper part within the reactor, and undergoes a synthesis reaction in a suspended state.